Pollination biology of fruit-bearing hedgerow plants and the role of flower-visiting insects in fruit-set

Jacobs, Jennifer; Clark, S. J.; Denholm, I.; Goulson, Dave; Stoate, Chris; Osborne, Juliet L.

doi:10.1093/aob/mcp236

Cited by 57 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The mean proportional fruit set per quadrat was generally low (0.15). This is in contrast to a study of ivy fruit set under different pollination scenarios, which found that mean proportional fruit set per umbel was high (0.45; Jacobs et al 2009). The latter study only scored fruit set of terminal umbels to test pollination scenarios and since terminal umbels are the first to flower they may receive more insect visits and hence achieve greater fruit set.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

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Pollinator effectiveness and fruit set in common ivy, Hedera helix (Araliaceae)

Jacobs

Clark

Denholm

et al. 2009

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

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Flowers of common ivy (Hedera helix L.) provide late season pollen and nectar for several insect groups, and its fruits are a winter and spring food source for frugivorous birds. Ivy benefits from insect pollination in order to set fruit, but it is unknown which flower-visiting insects are the most effective pollinators. Our observations suggest that Vespula wasps are potentially the most effective pollinators since they were frequent visitors, had relatively fast foraging rates, carried large numbers of pollen grains on their bodies and had the highest ‘Pollination potential PP index’ score (a measure of pollinator effectiveness) of all the insect groups examined. There was also a positive linear relationship between the proportion of ivy flowers that set fruit and wasp foraging activity in 0.5 m2 quadrats. Visits by Vespula wasps may therefore be important for ensuring a supply of ivy fruits for b

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Ivy has a requirement for insect pollination to produce fruit, since the proportion of flowers that set fruit is significantly reduced in the absence of flower-visiting insects (Jacobs et al 2009). Its flowers attract several insect taxa, which may vary in their contribution to pollination (as found in studies of other plants e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollinator effectiveness and fruit set in common ivy, Hedera helix (Araliaceae)

Jacobs

Clark

Denholm

et al. 2009

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

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“…They can also act as corridors for movement and dispersal (Tikka, Högmander, & Koski, 2001;Wehling & Diekmann, 2009). Plant communities in road verges and hedges produce flowers that provide nectar and pollen as food for insects (Hopwood, 2008;Jacobs et al, 2009;Munguira & Thomas, 1992), and studies have shown that they are important sources of floral resources at a landscape scale (Cole, Brocklehurst, Robertson, Harrison, & McCracken, 2017;Osgathorpe, Park, & Goulson, 2012), particularly in agricultural landscapes (Baude et al, 2016). However, no study has explored how pollinators are distributed at a local scale across adjacent road verges, hedges and fields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Road verges support pollinators in agricultural landscapes, but are diminished by heavy traffic and summer cutting

Phillips

Gaston

Bullock

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Supporting pollinators in agricultural landscapes is important for reversing their global decline. Road verges and hedges are used by pollinators for feeding and reproduction, but few studies consider entire pollinator communities, and it remains unclear how they are distributed across adjacent verges, hedges and fields, or how they are affected by traffic and verge cutting. We surveyed flowers and pollinators, using transect counts and pan traps, to explore the role of road verges and their associated hedges in supporting pollinators in an agricultural landscape in southwest England, and the impacts of traffic and verge cutting. At 19 sites, we surveyed the road verge (verge edge and verge centre), the verge hedge (both sides), a field hedge and the field interior. Road verges and hedges had a much greater flower abundance, flower species richness and pollinator abundance than field interiors. Verge hedges had far less woody cover than field hedges, but greater flower species richness. There were fewer pollinators along verge edges (next to roads) than along verge centres (2–11 m from roads) and fewer pollinators in road verges next to busier roads. Road verges were generally cut once (in summer), and cuttings were never removed. There were substantially fewer flowers and pollinators in road verges that had been cut, even though surveys often took place many weeks after cutting. Synthesis and applications. Road verges and their associated hedges can provide hotspots of resources for pollinators in agricultural landscapes, but their capacity to do so is reduced by heavy traffic and summer verge cutting. We recommend that beneficial management for pollinators should prioritize wider road verges (at least 2 m wide), roads with less traffic, and areas away from the immediate vicinity of the road. Where possible, verge cutting should not be carried out during peak flowering times.

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“…Our plants were a mixture of self-compatible ones (bramble and marjoram [36][37][38]), self-incompatible ones [39], or a mixture of both/unknown [37,40]. Additionally, during our study sometimes the insects visited multiple flowers on the same plants (e.g., California lilac), and sometimes the insects visited multiple, neighboring plants (ragwort, bramble, and marjoram).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Busy Bees: Variation in Insect Flower-Visiting Rates across Multiple Plant Species

Couvillon

Walter

Blows

et al. 2015

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

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We quantified insect visitation rates by counting how many flowers/inflorescences were probed per unit time for five plant species (four native and one garden: California lilac, bramble, ragwort, wild marjoram, and ivy) growing in Sussex, United Kingdom, by following individual insects ( = 2987) from nine functional groups (honey bees (Apis mellifera), bumble bees (Bombus spp.), hoverflies, flies, butterflies, beetles, wasps, non-Apidae bees, and moths). Additionally, we made a census of the insect diversity on the studied plant species. Overall we found that insect groups differed greatly in their rate of flower visits ( < 2.2 −16 ), with bumble bees and honey bees visiting significantly more flowers per time (11.5 and 9.2 flowers/minute, resp.) than the other insect groups. Additionally, we report on a within-group difference in the non-Apidae bees, where the genus Osmia, which is often suggested as an alternative to honey bees as a managed pollinator, was very speedy (13.4 flowers/minute) compared to the other non-Apidae bees (4.3 flowers/minute). Our census showed that the plants attracted a range of insects, with the honey bee as the most abundant visitor (34%). Therefore, rate differences cannot be explained by particular specializations. Lastly, we discuss potential implications of our conclusions for pollination.

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Pollination biology of fruit-bearing hedgerow plants and the role of flower-visiting insects in fruit-set

Abstract: Ensuring strong populations of insect pollinators may be essential to guarantee a winter fruit supply for birds in UK hedgerows.

Cited by 57 publications

References 47 publications

Pollinator effectiveness and fruit set in common ivy, Hedera helix (Araliaceae)

Pollinator effectiveness and fruit set in common ivy, Hedera helix (Araliaceae)

Road verges support pollinators in agricultural landscapes, but are diminished by heavy traffic and summer cutting

Busy Bees: Variation in Insect Flower-Visiting Rates across Multiple Plant Species

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